539. What is the role of prayer in the mission of the prophets? (part 1)
(Comp 539) The prophets drew from prayer the light and strength to exhort the
people to faith and to conversion of heart. They entered into great intimacy
with God and interceded for their brothers and sisters to whom they proclaimed
what they had seen and heard from the Lord. Elijah was the father of the
prophets, of those who sought the face of God. On Mount Carmel he achieved the
return of the people to the faith, thanks to the intervention of God to whom he
prayed: “Answer me, O Lord, answer me!” (1 Kings 18:37).
“In brief”
(CCC 2595) The prophets
summoned the people to conversion of heart and, while zealously seeking the
face of God, like Elijah, they interceded for the people.
To deepen and
explain
(CCC 2581) For the People
of God, the Temple was to be the place of their education in prayer:
pilgrimages, feasts and sacrifices, the evening offering, the incense, and the
bread of the Presence (“shewbread") - all these signs of the holiness and
glory of God Most High and Most Near were appeals to and ways of prayer. But
ritualism often encouraged an excessively external worship. The people needed
education in faith and conversion of heart; this was the mission of the
prophets, both before and after the Exile.
Reflection
(CCC 2584) In their
"one to one" encounters with God, the prophets draw light and
strength for their mission. Their prayer is not flight from this unfaithful
world, but rather attentiveness to the Word of God. At times their prayer is an
argument or a complaint, but it is always an intercession that awaits and
prepares for the intervention of the Savior God, the Lord of history (Cf. Am
7:2, 5; Isa 6:5, 8, 11; Jer 1:6; 15:15-18; 20:7-18). [IT CONTINUES]
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